Tim Wright released

Deus Irae said:

Mankins would have been the Patriots best OL last season, just as he had been the Patriots best OL for many years before that. New England got lucky because, even with all the injury issues on that line, there were able to field their top 5 in the SB. If Stork hadn't been able to go, Brady would have been a dead man, because there was nobody capable of taking over for an interior spot.

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No. 10 char.

patsinthesnow said:

No. 10 char.

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Yes.


Without question.

Deus Irae said:

Mankins would have been the Patriots best OL last season, just as he had been the Patriots best OL for many years before that. New England got lucky because, even with all the injury issues on that line, there were able to field their top 5 in the SB. If Stork hadn't been able to go, Brady would have been a dead man, because there was nobody capable of taking over for an interior spot.

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He wasn't a dead man after Stork went down in the Ravens game. Far from it, actually. And the Ravens had a better Dline than Seattle did last year.

I recall Mankins playing well during the regular season for us every year he was here, but crumbling in the playoffs.

Patriots did not field their best team last year. They won the superbowl and that was awsome, but they won despite making a crappy trade....

Is it wrong to recognize that?

In my work, I can do an awesome job and get accolades but I still look at things I could have done better.

Brady6 said:

Does them winning the SB give them a pass on everything that was not done well?

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Yes.

FourierSeries said:

He wasn't a dead man after Stork went down in the Ravens game. Far from it, actually. And the Ravens had a better Dline than Seattle did last year.

I recall Mankins playing well during the regular season for us every year he was here, but crumbling in the playoffs.

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Even with Stork, Brady was getting beaten up by Seattle before their injuries got to them. Without Stork, and having to play a guy like Kline, we'd have been pitching in for Brady's tombstone.


And you ignore Mankins playing well in a lot of playoff games, which is not surprising, since you ignore the same about Welker.

FCB02062 said:

We said the same thing about Daniel Graham and Ben Watson....

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Is Gronk an equivalent Daniel Graham/Watson?

In seriousness, we say this every time we get a new #2 TE. I just hope people realize that the type of offense we had in 2010-2012 is not coming back. Nor should it.

Deus Irae said:

Mankins would have been the Patriots best OL last season, just as he had been the Patriots best OL for many years before that. New England got lucky because, even with all the injury issues on that line, there were able to field their top 5 in the SB. If Stork hadn't been able to go, Brady would have been a dead man, because there was nobody capable of taking over for an interior spot.

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Funny how "lucky" this Belichick guy has been over the years.

Seems kind of early to release him.

Have they really seen enough of Chandler/Davis/Derby to know they'd be better off with those 2 or 3?

Reading this thread makes me understand why we have people like Felger on Boston Sports Radio...

"Patriots did not field their best team last year..."

*sigh*

Joey007 said:

Is Gronk an equivalent Daniel Graham/Watson?

In seriousness, we say this every time we get a new #2 TE. I just hope people realize that the type of offense we had in 2010-2012 is not coming back. Nor should it.

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I would much rather have the offense we had last year (maybe slightly improved) than the one from 2010-2012. The one from last year produced 36 PPG in the postseason. Best postseason offensive production we've had under Belichick. Significantly higher than even the 2007 offense.

Nunchucks said:

Patriots did not field their best team last year. They won the superbowl and that was awsome, but they won despite making a crappy trade....

Is it wrong to recognize that?

In my work, I can do an awesome job and get accolades but I still look at things I could have done better.

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In retrospect, it wasn't the best trade, and we got rid of him a year too early.

A large part of it is that Mankins deserved a super bowl ring. Poor guy's rookie year was the year after number 3 and the year after he leaves we win number 4. He was pretty much the staple of our line for nearly a decade, so it's a shame.

Mack Herron said:

Sure, but if we are going to talk about cap space, we need to recognize that (1) the cap space is also available simply by relaeasing a player, and (2) the need for the cap space raises the issue of cap management in general and with Mankins contract in particular.

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Huh?
Getting rid of Mankins saved cap space. They may have 'won the transaction' if all they did was cut him. If they were able to get nothing, they would likely have released him.
Getting anything from Wright and a 4th was a bonus.

I'm not sure what issue is raised by a great player getting a reasonable contract then declining to no longer be worth it. That happens with half the veterans in the league.

Deus Irae said:

Mankins would have been the Patriots best OL last season, just as he had been the Patriots best OL for many years before that. New England got lucky because, even with all the injury issues on that line, there were able to field their top 5 in the SB. If Stork hadn't been able to go, Brady would have been a dead man, because there was nobody capable of taking over for an interior spot.

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Vollmer has been the best Olineman on the team for a few years now

Saved cap space for what?

FourierSeries said:

I would much rather prefer the offense we had last year (maybe slightly improved) than the one from 2010-2012. The one from last year produced 36 PPG in the postseason. Best postseason offensive production we've had under Belichick. Significantly higher than even the 2007 offense.

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Exactly.

When it comes down to crunch time. Like when we were down by 14 twice to Baltimore or down 10 in the 4th to Seattle, the two TE offense would have failed, just like it did in SB 46. You need your outside vertical targets like Lafell and Edelman to pull of their magic in that situation.

Our only options at WR in the 2011 SB were MIA Ocho, a 73 year old Deion Branch, and Wes We... well we all know how that turned out late in the game.

Bottom line. The 2 TE set would help us crush opponents in the regular season, but would fall flat when it really mattered.

Hercules Rockefeller said:

Vollmer has been the best Olineman on the team for a few years now

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Not even close.

Deus Irae said:

by Seattle before their injuries got to them.

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And there it is.

Maybe BB knew he wasn't going to make the team with the depth at TE and decided to release him now, rather than later as a favor to let him improve his chances to catch on with another team....

Joey007 said:

In retrospect, it wasn't the best trade, and we got rid of him a year too early.

A large part of it is that Mankins deserved a super bowl ring. Poor guy's rookie year was the year after number 3 and the year after he leaves we win number 4. He was pretty much the staple of our line for nearly a decade, so it's a shame.

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Mankins does not deserve a Superbowl ring. The way you get a Superbowl ring is to be a member of a team that wins a Superbowl.